A successful coffee tale from a true believer

I believe in the humanity of people. I believe as managers and leaders, the only way you can build a great company is if you can balance the expectations of customers with the expectations of the employees. That was in 1987.

There are 23,000 Starbucks stores in 70 countries. Last week, 85 million people went to our stores and over 300,000 people around the world are proud of wearing the green apron. It is hard to believe how it happened. But it happened because we share our success.

What's your favorite way of cooking coffee?

I prefer French press. It produces a wonderful rich cup of coffee.

A culture of belonging at Starbucks China

Starbucks announced several initiatives, including housing allowance subsidy and more leave without pay on January 11 while celebrating its 2,000-store milestone in China.

From January, full-time baristas and shift supervisors in Starbucks company-owned stores in China will receive a monthly housing allowance subsidy to help them overcome the initial financial challenges. This benefit is expected to cover about 50 percent of their monthly housing expenses.

Starbucks China will introduce the Career Coffee Break, which is a traditional partner benefit from the US, and the employees within the stores with 10 consecutive years of service will be eligible to apply for up to 12 months of unpaid leave.

The employees' social and company benefits will continue during their leave.

CV

Age: 62

Education: Bachelor's degree from Northern Michigan University, US

Career:

1982: Director of operations and marketing in Starbucks

1987: CEO of Starbucks

2000: Chairman of Starbucks

2008 onwards: President and CEO of Starbucks

Honors:

Fortune's 2011 Businessperson of the Year

Distinguished Leadership Award from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management

Botwinick Prize in Business Ethics from Columbia Business School

The first-ever John Wooden Global Leadership Award from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Time magazine's "Time 200," a list of the most influential people in the world.

Family: Married